Welcome from the faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management (FERM). Our department comprises a unique group of specialists in forest management, engineering, biometrics, hydrology, forest health and silviculture working to support decisions for sustainable forests. FERM’s mission is to develop, communicate, and teach the science and engineering necessary for sustainable management of forest, land, and water resources to achieve economic, environmental, and social objectives. Teaching and research emphasize all aspects of active forest management, from regeneration through harvest, for multiple land use objectives, from wood production to restoration of ecological function.

We house four undergraduate programs in forest engineering and forest management. The SAF-accredited degree in Forest Management is administered in FERM. We also offer three forest engineering undergraduate degree options. The forest engineering and forest engineering - civil engineering degrees are both fully accredited in engineering (ABET EAC) and forestry (SAF). The third option is the new, SAF-accredited, forest operations management degree. This degree includes a minor in business and focuses on the planning, management and harvesting aspects of land management projects. All four degrees lead to excellent employment opportunities. In addition to high quality classrooms and labs on campus, we have a 11,500-acre college-owned forest just 20 minutes from campus that provides a setting for field exercises in many classes.

If you are interested in a graduate degree, we invite you to explore our programs in forest resources, forest engineering, forest science, forest hydrology and forest soil science. If you have a particular interest in water and watersheds, you might also consider the OSU Water Resources Graduate Program. Many students customize degree programs that integrate elements of several areas. We typically have a diverse group of students representing several continents, so the education goes well beyond the classroom.

FERM faculty members are recognized research scholars and several provide leadership in international scientific organizations. The faculty pursues a wide range of basic and applied research projects on topics that include: understanding watershed processes in forested ecosystems; silviculture and vegetation management; applications of economics to understanding critical trade-offs in resource policy decisions; supply chain efficiency; logging methods; transportation system management; planning models in all forms of active management; modeling of tree and stand development; forest data sampling and monitoring methods; and measurement, mapping, and data management technologies. In addition, we have developed several decision-support software programs for designing forest operations and computer-based forest growth models that are widely used by practitioners.

Promotion of high quality forest management and well-reasoned public policy is a long-standing tradition of the OSU College of Forestry. The new FERM department continues in that tradition by conveying research and management information to practitioners, the public, and policy makers through publications, and presentations. In addition, we offer a diverse slate of continuing education courses, many of which are led by the Extension faculty in the department.

Browse through the Forest Engineering, Resources and Management web site to learn more about our programs and us. We welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Kindest regards,

Thomas Maness
Professor and Department Head